Thanks. I actually untar'd the extra libraries from http://www.kicadlib.org/ into the kicad libraries folder - but if you are saying that these are the default kicad libraries than everything is fine. I kind of prefer to have all pins (including power pins) showing on the schematic - I like to design my schematics to be similar to the PCB layout if possible - in particular in terms of layout of parts.
So with the ground pin - it seems like I need to click on a 1x1 pixel - as opposed to just clicking in the circle - but the circle of the pin doesn't show for the ground symbol. I will look for the magnetic tracks option for eeschema - perhaps that will solve my pin connecting problems. Ted ________________________________ From: Andy Eskelson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 3:33:56 AM Subject: Re: [kicad-users] Re: learning some basics When laying out a track it should snap to a pin providing the feature is turned on, which it is by default. Check: preferencs>general In the bottom right hand corner there is the options for magnetic tracks, it is normally set to When creating tracks. For your connector, you should use a pad as the connection point. Place a pad then adjust the size of it to suit your requirement. (I assumw that you have done this) On the Eeschema drawing are you trying to connect a wire to the round circle of a power port? If so that could well be where some confusion has crept into things. On a power port, the connection point is at the end of the short line for most of them, For the ground (triangle) power ports the connection is in the centre line of the long side. +5V and Vcc is a NAME depending on where it is used it can be power in or out. Treat the power ports as invisible named nets, all you have to do is ensure that the parts you design use the correct name, and then you need to ensure that these invisible nets have some power fed into them, which you do either by connecting them to power out pin on a device, or you hang a power flag on it the tell the system that it is powered. It would be a good idea to run through the tutorial a few times... As for the libraries, unless you have added extra libs and modules via the libs and mods preferences menu, AND saved these into the default project, anything you create and add will only be available in your current project. Start a new project and have a look, you should not see anything you have designed. So you could run the tutorial from there. Andy On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:25:14 -0700 (PDT) Ted Huntington <huntington_ted@ yahoo.com> wrote: > Thanks Andy and Jorge > > The polygons I am talking about are the zones in PCBNew. They need to be on > the same net as the vias that connect to them. > > These parts - like this 3.5mm terminal connector - just don't exist in the > Kicad libraries - I have to make my own - but I see what you are saying about > grid alignment and pin naming and defining. So you are saying that I should > be able to click anywhere inside the round area of the pin to connect? For my > ground it seems like a 1x1 pixel. Maybe I need to make the round circle > visible for my +5V and GND power objects. I should probably run through the > tutorial with the kicad libraries - unfortunately I have put all the > libraries together and can't distinguish between the native kicad libs - so I > have to sort that out. > > thanks again > Ted > > So +5V is power out and Vcc is power in - that is what I thought - and that > seems the logical convention. > > > > > ____________ _________ _________ __ > From: Joerg <joerg...@analogcons ultants.com> > To: kicad-users@ yahoogroups. com > Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 11:52:00 AM > Subject: [kicad-users] Re: learning some basics > > > > > > Andy Eskelson wrote: > > Hi Ted, > > > > You are not the only one that has had problems getting started, I ran > > into quite a few problems at first. > > > > n Eeschema it works by default in a "snap to grid" mode, so there is not > > really any need for a snap to pin. > > > > I see that you are creating your own parts - that's jumping in at the > > deep end for sure :-) ... > > Oh yeah, it sure is a brazen jump :-) > > But it's good that Ted started with what absolutely must be learned, the > creation of his own libraries. Kicad would benefit from allowing larger > zoom levels. That'll show a disconnect even if ever so small. With Eagle > you can zoom as far as it takes to see the speck of dirt on the back of > a fly. > > Ted: You can name pins anyway you want but it would be good not to > prefer attributes that "avoid ERC warnings". That's like putting a piece > of duct tape over the check engine light in your car ;-) > > [...] > > -- > Regards, Joerg > > http://www.analogco nsultants. com/ > > >
